Lantern Festival, also known as "Shangyuan Festival" or "Lantern Festival". According to data records, the Lantern Festival has already appeared in the Han Dynasty. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it was known as the three traditional Chinese folk festivals along with the Spring Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival. It has a history of more than two thousand years.

The custom of eating dumplings during the Lantern Festival was formed in the Song Dynasty. According to records, in the Tang Dynasty, "face cocoons" and "round not falling corners" were eaten during the Lantern Festival. In the Southern Song Dynasty, "Lactose Yuanzi" appeared, which should be the predecessor of Tangyuan. The poem "Boiled Floating Yuanzi in Lantern Festival" written by Zhou Bida in the Song Dynasty contained the verse of "the stars are in the dark clouds, the beads are floating in the muddy water". As of the Ming Dynasty, the term "Yuanxiao" became more common.

The meaning of eating dumplings

Eating Lantern Festival on the 15th of the first lunar month is a common custom across the country. According to experts, glutinous rice balls are also called "tang dumplings" or "yuanzi" and "dumplings", and southerners also call them "shuiyuan" and "floating yuanzi."

Every first lunar fifteenth, almost every household eats Yuanxiao. In addition, the name of glutinous rice balls is similar to the pronunciation of "Reunion", which means reunion, which symbolizes the reunion, harmony and happiness of the whole family. People also miss the parting relatives and entrust their good wishes for future life.

Folklore experts said that when cooking glutinous rice balls, because it floats on the water after boiling, it is really beautiful, reminiscent of a bright moon hanging in the sky. There is a bright moon in the sky, glutinous rice balls in a bowl, and families are reunited, symbolizing auspicious reunion.

Therefore, eating dumplings expresses people's love of family reunion. At the same time, it also shows that the Chinese people's inheritance and love for traditional festivals are also a kind of love for Chinese culture.